The Minnesota Wild really feel a way of urgency regardless of having almost half a season left to play.
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After shedding three in a row and 4 of their final 5 video games, the Wild will look to show issues round on Monday afternoon towards the host Colorado Avalanche in Denver.
Minnesota has been on a curler coaster since late November. The Wild have had profitable streaks of 5 and 4 video games and have additionally had a stretch through which they dropped 4 in a row in regulation.
The present slide has include key gamers out. Star Kirill Kaprizov is on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body harm and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon each are out with lower-body accidents. Spurgeon, nevertheless, is on this two-game journey and will play Monday.
Even with the mounting accidents, Minnesota is disenchanted with a few of its losses, notably a 6-2 setback at Nashville on Saturday.
“I mean, that’s why you have to be able to play the games that you’re in,” coach John Hynes stated after the loss to the Predators. “We weren’t at our best, and that’s something we got to get back to on Monday. That’s what you have to do. It’s all about the next target. The next target’s Colorado.”
Though he has not performed in almost a month, Kaprizov leads the workforce in objectives , assists and factors . Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi rank second and third on the workforce.
Colorado is lacking some gamers, too, however its superstars are wholesome and thriving.
Nathan MacKinnon continues to guide the NHL in scoring with 73 factors coming into play on Sunday. Mikko Rantanen is sixth within the league with 63 factors , and Cale Makar leads all defensemen with 52 factors .
Makar had two objectives in Saturday’s 6-3 win over Dallas, together with the a hundredth of his profession. He additionally got here again after taking a shot off his left skate within the second interval.
“I’m a little biased, but you’re watching one of the best defensemen that’s ever played the game,” coach Jared Bednar stated of Makar.
Jonathan Drouin additionally scored his a hundredth purpose within the win and has began to discover a rhythm after lacking 32 of the primary 38 video games with an upper-body harm.
He has additionally benefited from taking part in on MacKinnon’s line.
“We’re just on the same page. In the right spots at the right time, making it easy for the guy with the puck to find him, or make a play out of it,” Drouin stated of his line.
The Avalanche are nonetheless hoping to get again to full well being.
Valeri Nichushkin has missed the final 9 video games with a lower-body harm and Miles Wooden has been out for the final 24 with an upper-body harm. There is no such thing as a timeline on when both ahead will return to the lineup.
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